Why TSN is Good for Digital Transformation in Manufacturing

Summary

Businesses driving their digital transformation journeys are demanding access to all data in their manufacturing systems, from sensors and actuators to the PLCs, robots, drives and HMI/SCADA. This requires the combining of IT and OT networks, Ethernet as a backbone, and automation devices that have been enabled with Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) functions.

Industry 4.0 and Digital Transformation is an undeniable global trend. This trend will have an impact on all aspects of production lines and machines in a modern plant.
 
Today, plants are dominated by machines that are performing their intended functions as initially designed and delivered. Developed by OEMs, they run at the speeds, quality and reliability that they were designed for. When they require routine maintenance, it is generally done on a schedule, to avoid maintenance at the time of failure. That maintenance is performed by on-site personnel. Machines of this type perform their functions, but with little opportunity for improvement.
 
There is a better way—a way brought about by the Industry 4.0 trend. Industry 4.0 is about leveraging new technologies for the benefit of continuous improvement. While there are close to a dozen Industry 4.0 technologies to leverage such as additive manufacturing and augmented reality, the technologies most related to machine and line operation within a plant would include the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), Cloud and Artificial Intelligence.
 
The latter Industry 4.0 technologies are delivering the opportunity for major plant efficiency improvements through the access of additional data, with improved context. Machines and processes can be monitored and analyzed for performance, quality and reliability, offering the ability to operate or tune them to maximize KPIs to benefit the user.
 
Monitoring process data requires attention to the following:

• Providing external access to all variables in a process or machine
• Instrumenting a process with additional sensors to enable greater context of operation
• Adding new capabilities, based on new knowledge, that can deliver a competitive advantage.

Provide external access to all machine variables: In the past, this has been one of the greatest challenges, primarily because communications within a plant fall into various categories and have differing requirements. There is typically a control network and a supervisory network. And there can be a bridge to an external network. Some communications require deterministic performance for processes such as motion control, or high reliability for safety. Other communications are less demanding and are for informational purposes. Often, the gateway for these communications becomes the controller – PLC, or the operator interface. Ideally, there should be a common backbone for all communications. 
 
The most common backbone for IT communications is Ethernet. The improvement in Ethernet performance is greatly outpacing that if the niche industrial transports based on the needs of a much larger IT market. In 2016, Ethernet specifications were improved to include Time Sensitive Networking (TSN). This was the missing link to enable Ethernet as the backbone for machine automation, combining Information Technology (IT) networks and Operational Technology (OT) networks, the combining of control and information communications within a machine. With new products on the market with support for TSN, machine builders can now deliver equipment with a common Ethernet TSN backbone, enabling direct data access with the entire machine, from controller to sensors and actuators.
 
Instrumenting a machine with additional sensors to enable greater context of operation: Greater access to machine data means the opportunity to better understand the machine operation, provided there is enough context to enable an understanding of the data. For example, a piece of equipment may be running hotter than usual because it is running harder, under greater load, or because the ambient temperature is higher that day. 
 
Startup performance will vary based on a cold start or a warm start. If your machine isn’t properly instrumented for context, making sense of your data will be more challenging. This also requires a loosening of alarm levels, the early warning system to machine failures. A common backbone will enable the introduction of many more sensors, perhaps completely unrelated to the actual operation of the machine, but critical to understand the context of your machine’s operation, to benefit future analysis.
 
Adding new capabilities that can deliver a competitive advantage: As a machine user, your competitive advantage is your product, and making your product as efficiently and of the highest quality possible. A smarter Machine will certainly help. But as a machine builder, what is your competitive advantage? In an Industry 4.0 world, your competitive advantage may very well be in the machine analytics that you can provide. Are you scheduling maintenance based on operations, or a schedule? Are you able to view similar machines and identify which will provide the best rate of return, and schedule appropriately? Are you able to connect remotely and have access to enough data and context, to properly troubleshoot a machine and eliminate the need for travel and coordinated visits? Can you add new sensors that unlock a greater understanding to the operation of your machine, when needed, installing, or accessing video cameras for example? Are you delivering Digital Twin analytics, modeling machine operations and dynamically adjusting alarm levels based on the current context of operation?
 
Industry 4.0 technologies are unleashing a new wave of innovation that is sure to increase performance, improve quality and reduce costs. With new technology such as Ethernet TSN, we will see machines shift from their original designed for purpose and fixed performance to those that can offer quantified performance, quality and cost metrics, and that will improve over time, based on OEM analytics and feedback.

TSN is a game-changing technology

TSN is an innovative Ethernet technology defined by enhancements to the IEEE 802.1 standards. This is quickly proving its essential role in the Connected Industries of the Future thanks to its unique ability to support convergence on the factory floor as well as between IT and OT worlds. Its importance is being acknowledged by several sectors, which are demanding automation solutions with TSN capabilities.
 
Device vendors may be wondering if the time is right to adopt TSN. In fact, there is a strong case for taking action now. Implementing this technology within their products today is a safe bet that can enhance competitiveness and market share. Many businesses are currently in their digital transformation, and it is key for automation specialists to support them now with future-oriented devices. Even more, with typical life cycles of 20-25 years for automation components, adding future-oriented technologies, such as TSN, in factories is key to drive differentiation and competitiveness in the short run, while being able to adapt over the long run.
 
For those who think maybe now is not the time for action, a clear parallel can be drawn between TSN and mobile phone technology, which has been quickly transitioning from 2G to 3G, 4G and recently 5G. Instead of waiting for the “next” technology, competitive manufacturers promptly implemented these advancements within their products as the technology landscape continued to evolve. This helped them to address immediate market demands. Most technical specialists will agree that any given technology continually evolves and therefore waiting for it to be “finished” is a futile strategy that will see their companies falling behind.
 
There are existing vendors of TSN products and there is an ecosystem of TSN users. We are no longer talking only about futures. Compliant products were introduced in 2018 and TSN is becoming a competitive advantage in motion control, robotics and other high-performance markets. The benefits of TSN are spreading to all applications and markets as more and more solutions are delivered and costs are reduced through normal supply and demand processes.

TSN role within industrial Ethernet protocols

When adopting TSN, companies need to consider a number of practicalities. For example, forward-looking device vendors interested in adding TSN functions to their products may be wondering how TSN affects the general support that their solutions already offer for current industrial Ethernet protocols. To this end, it is important to note that this innovative technology was designed to improve standard Ethernet and it only operates at Layer 2 of the OSI model. TSN is intended to work with all protocols and support their convergence / co-existence, helping users have different traffic types coexisting on a single network.
 
Ultimately, this technology is just a ‘pipe’ and therefore, industrial Ethernet protocols of different types are still required to cover the remaining application use cases, such as safety and motion control. It is important for device manufacturers to understand that TSN cannot replace all industrial Ethernet connectivity. Instead, manufacturers should leverage an industrial Ethernet solution that supports all key uses cases while also providing the convergence benefits that are offered by TSN, such as CC-Link IE TSN. This is the first open and widely supported network technology that combines gigabit bandwidth with TSN functions.
 

Vendors upgrading their automation devices

As a result of the many development methods available, vendors can make sure that the right technical solution is available for the specific product they want to deliver. For instance, software protocol stacks are ideal for businesses interested in quickly implementing TSN-based solutions, as they offer perhaps the fastest method to enhance existing products by reducing in-house development time and costs. Furthermore, they are generally portable, so they can be applied with minimal changes. When performance is more important, hardware solutions are best suited to ensure TSN conformance. These include Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), also referred to as dedicated communication Large Scale Integrations (LSIs), as well as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs).
 
Ultimately, while TSN will change over time, as all new technologies do, automation vendors can benefit from considerable gains by providing innovative capabilities to their devices now and leverage firmware upgrades for future compatibility. There is broad acceptance of TSN today, and the ecosystem continues to grow rapidly. By leveraging this open network technology, both device vendors and machine builders can tap into new market opportunities quickly, futureproofing their businesses and their customers’ operations.